Art guild schedules art auction

The 2nd Ave. Art Guild will hold an art auction at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Casey's Cowtown.The evening will begin with a wine tasting sponsored by Comanche Beverage Outlet."They're inviting the best wine distributors to participate," said Jack Stuart, director of the guild.Works by guild members, local artists and artists from around the country will be available for both silent auction and live action bidding."We're contacting artists from around the country who have Dodge City connections," Stuart said.In all, works from the 13 guild members and about 20 other artists will be on the block — everything from stained glass, paintings and drawings, wheel-thrown and hand-thrown ceramics and jewelry to photography.Tickets for the event are $15 and can be purchased at the guild's gallery on Second Avenue, at Comanche Beverage or at the door.

Why an auction?Proceeds from the auction will help the guild continue to keep their downtown gallery open.The gallery was created in July of 2010 when a local property owner offered space to the guild.Members of the gallery volunteered to convert the empty space into a modern gallery and the members sign up to staff the shop.The guild has spent the last two years working on an application for non-profit status. The application was recently denied by the Internal Revenue Service."We spent $4,000 in the application process but it's a dead end," Stuart said.So the guild is now changing course and looking into becoming an LLC, a limited liability company with the guild members as equal partners."We really wanted the non-profit status for the credibility it would bring," Stuart said."As a non-profit we could accept donations and they would be tax deductible for the donor. As an LLC we can accept sponsorships," Stuart said,The guild is intent on the next phase of their development: education."We hope to have classes for all ages beginning soon," Stuart said."Our mission hasn't changed — funds raised from the auction will help continue operations of the gallery, help us start education programs and help us get a Web site up," Stuart said.The gallery's current hours are Friday from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.